Dear USF community,
I am pleased to share with you an important update on our search to identify the next president of the University of South Florida.
But before I do, I want to express my deep gratitude to Rhea Law for everything she has contributed to the university over the past 40 years since she first stepped on campus as a student. As president, Rhea has truly been the right leader at the right time for USF, and by every measure she has been exceptional in leading us to unprecedented levels of success. We simply would not be where we are today without her.
It is because of Rhea, her leadership team, our amazing students, faculty, staff, alumni and supporters that USF has incredible momentum that will allow us to find the best candidate to become our ninth president.
I am happy to announce that Mike Griffin, vice chair of the USF Board of Trustees, co-head of Florida Region and vice chairman of Savills, and a passionate USF alum, has agreed to serve as chair of the Presidential Search Committee. You’ll recall that Mike chaired the committee in our previous search less than four years ago. The community input he received and knowledge gained during that recent process, including holding nearly 40 listening sessions with various stakeholder groups, will give us a significant head start in this search.
Joining Mike on the committee are the following members:
-
Charbel Barakat — USF Board of Trustees; general counsel, D.R. Horton, Inc.
-
Derrick Brooks — Board member, EVP Corporate and Community Development, Vinik Sports Group; motivational speaker; NFL Hall of Famer; board member, Kforce, Inc.; president and founder, Derrick Brooks Charities
-
Sandra “Sandy” Callahan — USF Board of Trustees; former chief financial officer, TECO Energy
-
John Couris — President and CEO, Tampa General Hospital
-
Alexa Grubbs — USF third-year student, Judy Genshaft Honors College
-
Oscar Horton — USF Board of Trustees; president and chief executive officer, Sun State International Trucks
-
Ken Jones — Florida Board of Governors; founder and managing partner, Third Lake Partners
-
Merritt Martin — USF Foundation Board of Directors; vice president, Public Affairs and Strategic Communications; chief of staff, External Affairs, Moffitt Cancer Center
-
Andrew “Andy” Mayts, Jr. — USF Financing Corp. and USF Property Corp.; partner, Public Sector co-chair, Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP
-
Harold “Hal” Mullis — Past chair, USF Board of Trustees; president, Trenam Law; Board of Governors designee
-
Jenifer Jasinski Schneider — Interim dean, USF College of Education; professor, USF College of Education Literacy Studies
-
Debbie Sembler — USF St. Petersburg Campus Board; vice chair, USF Foundation Board of Directors
-
Sylvia Wilson Thomas — USF vice president for Research & Innovation; president & CEO of the USF Research Foundation, Inc.; professor of engineering
-
Andrea Gonzmart Williams — USF Foundation Board of Directors; fifth-generation owner and operator, Columbia Restaurant Group
This outstanding group is committed to the future success of the University of South Florida, the Tampa Bay region and the state of Florida, and reflects broad representation from the university’s key stakeholder groups, including our students, faculty, alumni, partners and community business leaders.
The committee will be assisted by SP&A Executive Search, a highly regarded firm that proved to be an excellent partner in our last search.
USF will follow the process required by the State University System’s Board of Governors regulation for presidential searches. The committee is advisory and will be responsible for recommending a small number of qualified candidates to the USF Board of Trustees. The BOT will then interview the finalists and select the next president, pending final confirmation from the Board of Governors.
Today we launched a presidential search website that will be used to share updates, including information about upcoming opportunities for the community to provide input on the search.
As we embark on the next chapter in the history of our great university, there are many reasons for us to be excited about USF’s trajectory. I firmly believe that USF’s best days are ahead, and we look forward to providing you with updates as we progress.
Sincerely,
Will Weatherford
Chair, USF Board of Trustees